


Departure

by melianthegreat



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, M/M, Porn with Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-10-01 16:03:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10193558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melianthegreat/pseuds/melianthegreat
Summary: Takes place in the final segment of the "End of Time" episode. The Doctor needs to make his goodbyes, but knows it will be harder for one of his companions. He gives a special gift to ease the pain of loss. Complete Work.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in the Doctor Who fandom, though I am a longtime Whovian and I've posted other stories in other places here. I latched onto the relationship between The Doctor and Jack right away and have always thought there was much more to that than what they showed. I hope you like it.

The Doctor was finding it more and more difficult to move around now, sleeping longer, fighting with himself to get out of bed, most unusual for him. The radiation he'd absorbed saving Earth from the depravity of the Time Lords and their Final Sanction was beginning to conquer him. He'd told Wilfred he was going off to get his reward before either death or regeneration claimed him. 

He'd dropped in on Mickey Smith and Martha Jones, married, happy with each other as freelance alien hunters, playing Whack-a-Mole with a Sontaran who had the drop on them. He didn't speak, just stood watching, but Martha noticed him.

"Mickey," she whispered, and then he noticed.

 _Care for one another_ , his thought told them. _Make lots of babies. My time is over_. And they held each other tearfully as he walked away, knowing they would never see him in this form again.

He'd rescued Luke Smith from certain death as he chatted with his friend Clyde on the cellphone, oblivious to the car about to hit him. Bad enough he was a stupid kid, but he was also Sarah Jane's stupid kid, _his_ Sarah Jane's stupid kid, and that made him special. The Doctor had seen the car, had seen Luke wasn't paying attention as he crossed the street. He had to act fast. He ran and snatched Luke by the waist, spinning him away from the car to land on his feet on the sidewalk. Luke stared at him in shock and wonder. _Take care of your Mum, and yourself_ , was his message to the boy. Luke called out to his Mom as the Doctor walked to his TARDIS across Bannerman Road. Turning back, he saw Sarah Jane staring back at him, her son by her side. Eternally beautiful, radiant, brave Sarah Jane. He didn't know if he would regenerate, or if he would remember her if he did, but somehow he would carry that look on her face with him. She knew what was happening. 

_Goodbye, my Sarah Jane_ , he sent the message to her. Then he went inside.

The Doctor plotted who to contact next. He had a specific time in mind for Donna, who needed a special gift he wanted to give. Poor Donna, who had lost more than just about anyone short of losing her life, and he'd done it to her. Like Rose had made him better, he'd made Donna Noble better, and then took it all away from her. He needed to compensate. But it wasn't time yet. Rose was going to be last on his list. He knew who to reach next, but every cell in his body naturally resisted. Even the TARDIS seemed to groan at the thought. There was the 'fixed point in the universe' conundrum, but it was more than that. This would be far more emotional, more difficult than nearly all of them combined.

He had to say goodbye to Jack.

~#~

Jack Harkness was running wild in the universe. Of course many in the universe would question when Jack _wasn't_ running wild, even by 51st century standards. But Jack had become beyond control. Grief raged through him, dark and large and as howlingly primal as anything within Norwegian Death Metal. He'd lost so many he'd loved along the way, especially as he'd come to understand his immortality meant saying goodbye to so many. Especially on Earth with humans in the 20th and 21st century. But Ianto had somehow broken something deep inside, opened a wound so wide and deep it would probably never heal. There was no recovery from his death, something that led Jack to abandon Earth. 

Ianto Jones had never been a part of the bargain: it was to be a part of Torchwood, wait for the Doctor to reappear, find out if he could reverse what had happened, and maybe make peace with him being abandoned on the Game Station. Once he'd done that, the young Welshman suddenly mattered to him in ways that kept him there. Now Ianto was gone, Rose was gone, Donna was gone, Martha and Mickey were together, and nothing else would ever matter again. And so Jack had simply unleashed himself--getting drunk, fights that sometimes led to his death in hope one time he'd stay dead, becoming reckless. And there was always sex. In the 51st Century what was accepted was pretty much anything, but even then some social limits existed, including what people thought of those who enjoyed sex a little too much.

Even by 51st Century mores, Jack had the reputation of a male slut. It wasn't entirely true, not anymore. At least not until he lost Ianto. Now he decided to live down to everyone's expectations of him. No matter the species, no matter the gender, if it showed half an interest he was doing it. Nothing simply mattered anymore.  
That wasn't entirely true. Someone else mattered, but it wasn't like Jack could make him show up or stick around on a regular basis. The Doctor, as much as, if not more than his dear Ianto, had been Jack's great love, a lover of great intelligence and delicacy, who sometimes spoke to him in a nearly-musical Gallifreyan dialect in the height of passion or when he thought Jack was sleeping, whispering tender words no longer heard in the universe as he held Jack in his arms. Their times together had been rare and memorable, and sometimes Jack had wondered if he became vulnerable to Ianto's affections because he was like The Doctor in some ways. But The Doctor was a free spirit, and to force him to settle down in one place was to Jack like making a pet from a wild animal. It was cruel, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.

It didn't stop him from being lonely, from longing for the familiar touch, the way they kissed, the way The Doctor stroked him with his long, thin fingers. And thinking of The Doctor always led to thinking about Ianto Jones, how Jack had loved him. And how he'd failed him. And then he'd try his route to self-destruction again.

On this particular night Jack had stumbled back from a bar somewhere in the asscrack of the galaxy, nearly dead-drunk on hyper vodkas. He'd struck out on the companionship for the night, something that was happening with greater frequency. He wasn't sure of the reason for that, whether he'd finally overfished the waters here or he was spending more time drunk, and it was finally affecting his skills in that area, which was getting around. But tonight he was alone, his pickled brain was swimming with too many memories, and Jack had collapsed onto his bed to sleep it off, hoping the dreams of lost love wouldn't come that night, that he'd simply sleep a bit, and the hangover wouldn't be too bad.

Reality was shattering with the vision of Ianto dying in his arms, of Jack begging Ianto not to leave him, of waking up knowing the world would be forever gray and empty, of never being able to wander the streets of Cardiff and hear lovers murmur to each other in Welsh and not feel his soul ripped open. How could Jack have been so fucking stupid? He'd lived so long on Earth, knowing how fragile the human body was, knowing how dangerous the job was, of how most members of Torchwood never lived long enough to retire--James fucking Bond had a longer lifespan than the average Torchwood agent. And yet he'd let himself fall in love with Ianto despite firsthand knowledge that humans age and die, while he continued to live on. Why couldn't he tell Ianto how he felt about him? Why couldn't he have just left the young man alone?

 _Jack_... there was a separate voice within this dream, a voice familiar to him. No, Jack thought, it had to be a separate dream. Just as cruel, though, just someone else he couldn't have.

 _Jack_... that voice again. somewhere in his sleep came a distant memory, a story The Doctor told him as they lay together in bed in the TARDIS after sex. It was how he'd sent Rose to the parallel universe and appeared to give her one last goodbye as the walls between dimensions were closing. And he'd summoned her by calling out her name over and over until she answered.

Jack sat up. Could that be happening again? Still half-drunk, he walked outside and came face-to-face with the familiar blue box. He blinked stupidly as the door opened and the figure of the Time Lord stepped out, looking solemn. "Doctor?" Jack whispered, not quite believing what he was seeing.

The Doctor stared at Jack sadly. "Jack?" he greeted him, not smiling. "Oh, Jack... what have you been doing to yourself?"

"Just enjoying myself, I guess," Jack slurred and stumbled slightly. "Not much else to do around here, you know."

"I can see that," The Doctor acknowledged. Without another word he grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him into the TARDIS, removing his greatcoat and laying it across one of the coral hangings in the control room. The TARDIS gave a hum of concern, feeling the presence of the Fixed Point, and yet this hum was different than the way Jack remembered it. Somehow it was more tolerant, more accepting, more like the way the hum sounded when he was a companion with Rose. Before the Game Station. Before the Daleks killed him. The hum was gentle, nurturing, saying _there is something we can fix here_. "Through those doors," The Doctor instructed. "Shower and sober up. I need to tell you something."

"Can't I be drunk for this?" Jack groaned. "I've gotten used to going through life drunk, you know."

"No, you can't be drunk for this!" The Doctor replied testily. "Sober up. And I'm the only one here, so there's no one here to flirt with."

"I can always flirt with you," Jack purred, giving a lopsided grin.

This comment would normally bring an amused light to The Doctor's eyes, or at least earn a somewhat exasperated tone of voice. This time, though, what Jack saw and heard was something soft and sad. "Not this time, Captain. Now go on before I find I can't tell you."

Jack made quick work of the shower, but the sobering up part had been achieved by that tone of voice with The Doctor's last statement. Something within Jack knew something was quite different, different and wrong. He wondered what it was. Perhaps Rose somehow came back across dimensions to warn of an impending problem. Maybe somehow the Daleks had returned, or Cybermen, or the Slitheen. After all, he wasn't in touch with Torchwood anymore to know these things. When he stepped out of the shower the TARDIS had provided him with a bathrobe. Jack had considered stepping out into the control room nude--not the first time he' d done that, nor the first time The Doctor had not been waiting for him in the same manner (Naked Hide & Seek, a game Jack loved to play with Ianto and cheat at, had been invented by The Doctor himself, along with the cheating). The appearance of the robe, however, told Jack nakedness wouldn't be appropriate.

He stepped out of the warm, steamy room into the cool of the TARDIS' control room and shivered slightly. "Sorry about that, Jack," The Doctor announced. "I forgot Humans are so hotblooded. I'll turn the heat up for you." The Doctor twisted a couple of dials and suddenly Jack was feeling more comfortable.

"You know, you didn't have to change the temperature, you could have found a more hands-on approach to warming me up." Jack flashed that megawatt smile known in many galaxies, thinking The Doctor would be amused. Instead he gave Jack the same serious, sad expression he'd seen before and his smile faded. "Doctor, what's wrong?" he asked softly. "What do I need to know?"  
The Doctor could feel Jack's blue eyes boring into him, waiting expectantly. He gripped the console as he stared hard at the floor. "Oh, Captain Jack Harkness," he whispered. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry.... This is so much harder than I ever dreamed it would be..."

Jack was worried. "Doctor?" he asked, his voice betraying his concern.

"I had an accident," The Doctor answered, looking into his face. "There was radiation, 500,000 Rads of it, and I had to absorb it."

Jack nodded. "You were saving the Earth again, weren't you?" he asked. The Doctor nodded. Jack grinned slightly. "You're always getting yourself in trouble when the survival of Earth's at stake," he replied, his voice shaking a little and trying to reassure himself. "One of these days, you're going to kill yourself doing that...." Jack suddenly faltered and stared at The Doctor in shock. "Doctor... are you dying?"

"I absorbed a lot of radiation, Jack," The Doctor answered sadly. "Chances are I'll regenerate, but there's no guarantee. And even so, there's no guarantee that I will remember you, remember us, if I do regenerate. You mean enough to me where I will, hopefully, remember you as a traveler with me. But you could easily just be a traveler and nothing else." The Doctor paused, letting the news sink in.

Jack was silent for a few moments. Then The Doctor noticed his eyes welling with tears. "This can't be happening," he whispered. "It's just impossible. We have to do something. There has to be a planet somewhere where you can be saved." Jack was starting to visibly shake with fear and grief.

"Jack, you know if you absorb the wrong kind of radiation, or you get enough of it, this can happen, " The Doctor argued. "No matter how advanced we get in the universe, nothing can prevent cellular destruction due to radiation poisoning."

"But you can regenerate," Jack countered. "You've told me stories of how you faced worse and regenerated."

"Jack, I'm 906 years old," The Doctor stated. "I'm pretty advanced in my life cycle. Whenever I regenerate, I don't know what will happen anymore. In fact, I could die before I have the chance."

"But, you can't," Jack protested, trying to hide the pain in his voice. "Doctor, if you are indeed the last of your kind, and I'm an anomaly in the universe, then you're the only one who can truly understand the magnitude of what I've lost. I've lost families, lost friends. I've lost Ianto. He didn't just slip out of my life, he's _gone_! Who other than you can know how alone I am?" 

"You asked me once whether I wanted to die. I said no, because there was Humanity spreading across time and space, and I found it fantastic. And then I fell in love with Ianto, and that made it even better, because what was there for me could be out here for someone else. But he died, and when he died I realized he would never be out here. He was unique to the entire universe, and now he's gone it's _all_ gone. To be without you and him for the rest of eternity.... I just can't....I...." The tears finally spilled down his cheeks. "I can't let you die, Doctor. I. CAN'T. LET. YOU. DIE!"

Jack then did something that The Doctor realized, should he have future regenerations, he would never forget. Jack Harkness--strong, fearless, former Time Agent, hardened boss of Torchwood, Captain Jack Harkness--wept. Not just a few tears--great wracking sobs that convulsed his shoulders. It was then The Doctor understood how much the loss had broken him. He grabbed Jack and pulled him to his body, holding him tight and close. Jack buried his face into The Doctor's shoulder and stayed there, weeping as The Doctor tenderly caressed the back of his head. 

They stayed together like this for an unknown time until Jack's breathing relaxed and his tears slowed. When he finally looked up again his cheeks were wet, his eyes deep red. The Doctor brushed the tears from Jack's face, caressing his cheek with the back of his long fingers. Jack simply looked so unbearably sad. The Doctor reached in and softly kissed his lips to comfort him. This led to a second, longer kiss, still slow and soft. Before either was aware their tongues were exploring each other's mouths, their kisses less tender, The Doctor, letting his arms move onto Jack's waist, pulling him closer. He could feel Jack was responding to him, could see his blue eyes growing darker and fluttering half-closed. Taking his hand, The Doctor led Jack from the control room, hoping the TARDIS would cooperate and place the bedroom nearby.  
She did. And the temperature of the room was comfortable for both of them. Continuing to kiss Jack deeply, The Doctor made quick work of his outer suit coat as Jack unbuttoned The Doctor's fly, reaching inside to stroke his length. The Doctor gasped and threw his head back at the touch. He slowly untied the sash of Jack's bathrobe and lowered him to the bed, nibbling on Jack's earlobe, nuzzling the side of his neck, drawing a soft moan. The Doctor could smell the pheromones pouring off his sometime lover as his hands roamed over Jack's bare skin. His hands were followed by his lips, trailing along the collarbone, licking and teasing each nipple as Jack's hands tangled in The Doctor's hair.

The Doctor removed both his shirt and black T-shirt as he continued to kiss and lick lower. Jack gripped the pillow tightly and moaned helplessly into it as The Doctor found the sensitive spot next to his hip and lightly teased, working his way around the cock that was desperate for attention. The sounds Jack brought out did wonders for The Doctor's arousal, something that threatened to distract him from the task at hand. But The Doctor was aware this was a rare moment, a time when Jack, a natural top, was feeling vulnerable and needed to be on the receiving end this time. Not that he minded being the bottom when he and Jack were together, considering personality-wise The Doctor was a leader who legend said commanded multitudes. It was more taking an opportunity when it was presented and both were in the mood.

The Doctor took his time lavishing Jack's inner thighs before the exquisite torture of suckling Jack's testicles one by one. Jack's response was to arch off the bed and cry out loudly. "Doctor! Oh God!!" he shouted as The Doctor gave a predatory smile. Jack began to tremble with need as The Doctor continued, licking a stripe up Jack's sizable, leaking cock, flicking the tip of the tongue over the slit, finally placing the head in his mouth. Jack appeared delirious as The Doctor stared up at him, writhing and panting, lost in pleasure. It was exactly the way he liked to see his friend, but he wasn't done yet. Pouring a warm Gallifreyan oil on his fingers he prepared Jack carefully, and he chuckled with satisfaction as he stroked Jack's sweet spot and heard him begging for more, so much more.

The Doctor stretched out on top of Jack as Jack spread his legs for him. "Doctor, please...." he rasped, almost desperate. It was all the invitation The Doctor needed. He slicked down his own cock with the oil, reluctantly having to stop stroking himself before he came prematurely. Then, lifting Jack's legs to the point they rested on The Doctor' s shoulders, he impaled Jack almost completely. They both sighed with contentment at the feeling of filling and being filled, the sense Jack had of belonging to someone again, the sense by The Doctor he was sharing something with Jack he didn't share with just anyone.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, Jack's blue eyes clear and dark, pupils blown open with lust, The Doctor's brown and full of fire. "Doctor..." Jack whispered gently, his voice already full of emotions known and unknown, acknowledged and unspoken. 

"My lover," The Doctor whispered back to him in Gallifreyan as he slowly pushed into him and Jack arched his back, wrapping his legs around The Doctor's waist. As both adjusted to the other The Doctor began to adjust his thrusting, snapping his hips a little more, sometimes using a circular motion. Jack panted, moaned, and swore in various languages he picked up on Earth and elsewhere in response to the movement. He would shut his eyes, lost in the passion, then suddenly would snap them open again and look at The Doctor with an expression of devotion, adoration, and tenderness; _Blimey_ , The Doctor thought, _if this was the way he looked at Ianto during these times, it's no wonder the Welshman fell in love with him_  
.  
Jack, meanwhile, was having trouble putting together a coherent thought, much less the ability to form words. The Doctor had always been an excellent sexual partner for him, their bodies and imaginations seemingly attuned, but this time--whether due to circumstances or fate or overall desire--they were perfect together. With each thrust the Doctor was thrumming his prostate, causing Jack to see light behind his eyes, feeding his fire. He planted his large hands on The Doctor's ass and pushed, silently begging him to go deeper. But whenever Jack tried to speak, tried to tell him what he wanted, only noises would escape. And whenever he made those noises, The Doctor would smile that goofy smile of his and reach down and kiss him.

The Doctor felt Jack shift slightly and he felt his climax building inside. Jack's eyes had taken on a faraway, trance like expression. While his hands were still on The Doctor's ass, it was clear he was no longer pushing on him, that his body was gathering up. The Doctor grabbed Jack's cock and began stroking him. "I want you to come for me, Jack," he whispered. "Oh yeah, feels so good doesn't it?"

Jack could only moan at this point. He was so ready he could barely hear what The Doctor was saying to him. He could remember a final thrust into him, then suddenly the tension snapped. He was releasing, thick and hot, onto his chest and stomach, and screaming. At the same time his body began to shake violently as he began to squeeze around The Doctor almost painfully tight. He heard The Doctor shout out words he didn't comprehend, probably in Gallifreyan. Then what sounded like a strangled cry. And then Jack heard nothing.

When he came to sometime later, The Doctor's cool body was holding his close, softly kissing his lips, his face lightly stroked with long fingers. Jack realized sometime in all of this The Doctor had actually cleaned him up, and they were both wrapped in blankets. "There we go, there's my Jack," The Doctor murmured soothingly.

"What happened to me?" Jack asked as he snuggled into his lover.

"Well, this is only an educated guess," The Doctor answered in a cheeky tone, "but I'd say you had one heck of an orgasm." Jack laughed. " It made you pass out for a bit."

"I can remember screaming," Jack recalled, blinking as he tried to focus on the moment. 

The Doctor nodded. "Oh yes," he confirmed. "It was loud enough where I think the profoundly deaf on six planets heard you. I considered it a compliment to my considerable skills. Actually, not a bad note to leave this life on."

Jack pulled The Doctor down to him for a soft, deep kiss. "Must it happen?" he asked simply.

He watched as The Doctor's eyes glistened with the beginning of tears. "Yeah," he answered. "There are a couple of people I need to make my farewells to, but... yeah."

Jack was silent for a few minutes as he stroked The Doctor's face, trying to memorize his face by touch. The Doctor noticed the thoughtful expression on his face and realized Jack was preparing to say something profound to him. "I love you, Doctor," he said. "I didn't say it to someone who mattered before, and that was a mistake I don't want to make again. You may not be in love with me, and I'm okay with that. I just wanted to tell you, once."  
The Doctor listened carefully to what Jack said, watching as his face grew soft, conveying to The Doctor sincere emotion, not just post-orgasmic euphoria. "Oh, Jack..." sighed The Doctor. He looked away a moment; when he glanced back to Jack again his chin trembled a bit. "There have been a few fellow travelers in my time, and they all meant something to me. Not many of them have been very special. I liked them all, I've needed them in my life, because the times I've been alone things have gone wrong." He dipped down to kiss Jack again. "But I can say there have only been a few I truly loved. Sarah Jane was one."

Jack nodded. "And Rose."

The Doctor nodded back. "And...you." He smiled, though to Jack the tears were near. "And to lose you is perhaps the greatest sorrow I face." They wrapped themselves around each other and made love again, this time Jack on top, controlling the action. With Donna, The Doctor had wiped her memory to the day of their first meeting in order to save her life, to save her for the future. Jack needed saving for the future in a different way. And so there would be no removal of his memory. The Doctor would make sure Jack would remember this, remember their expression of love, remember one who he thought beyond his reach was right here with him, would always be with him whether he was in the universe or not.

Later, as Jack slept in his arms, The Doctor kissed his forehead and gently whispered, "I love you" in English. Somewhere in his sleep Jack overheard, as he snuggled closer and planted a kiss on The Doctor's chest.

~#~

 

A few days later Jack was making an appearance at the same bar he'd been hanging out in lately. He'd sobered up since the last time he'd been there, and with clear eyes he could see more of the multitude that frequented the place. It was early in the evening, so while Jack was nursing his first dram of Scotch he was carefully watching an Adipose stumble its way along the edge of the bar. The Adipose could never hold their liquor. The place was filling up quickly with everything from Judoon to Slitheen, but it was not yet so crowded he couldn't tell one from another. So it was that Jack was able to watch the cute but tipsy Adipose finally fall off the end of the bar and crash to the floor. Jack chuckled at the sight. He knew he probably shouldn't find the misfortune of another species amusing, but it was funny.

The bartender walked up to him. "Are you Jack?" Jack nodded. He handed Jack a piece of folded paper. "From the gentleman back there," he said, motioning behind him. Jack looked up and saw The Doctor across the room. And Jack knew the time had come. This would be the last time Jack would ever see him. The Doctor glanced quickly down to the paper, then back up into Jack's eyes. _Read it_ , Jack heard The Doctor's voice in his head. Jack unfolded the paper.

 _ **His name is Alonso**_ , the note read. Confused, Jack glanced up to The Doctor again. The Doctor indicated to Jack's left. _He's right over there_. A couple of seats over at the bar sat a young man, dressed in a Midshipman's uniform. Jack took note of a few things immediately: for one, Jack always appreciated a young man in uniform, especially one who filled it out so well and looked so handsome in it. Second this Alonso really was cute, apparently even without the uniform. And third, one of Jack's great frustrations with The Doctor had always involved flirting with new people. Every single time Jack introduced himself to someone in the universe, The Doctor would be there with two words--"Stop it." Not that anyone seemed to mind his flirts, which to Jack made him wonder how much The Doctor was admonishing him and how much was simple possessiveness. It had become so pervasive Jack had started to admonish _himself_ when alone and felt in the mood to masturbate. So for The Doctor to present someone to him...that was indeed something special. 

Suddenly Jack made a realisation: To his knowledge The Doctor had never deliberately played matchmaker before, to any of his companions. Alonso was potentially a gift to him, a way of easing the blow of The Doctor's departure. Jack didn't know this kid, but clearly The Doctor did, and somehow thought he and Jack would like each other. It was one of the most generous gifts ever given to him by anyone in his now-immortal life, gratitude for the fact he could have hated this Time Lord for everything that had happened--the pain, the abandonment, the rejection for his freakish nature--and yet did not. _God, I love him_ , he thought. _I would follow him anywhere, into battle with Daleks or the heart of a supernova_. And then Jack stood, making sure The Doctor could see him. Then Captain Jack saluted his leader. Leader in battle, leader in friendship, leader in love. _I'll be alright now_ , Jack projected his thought to The Doctor.

 _You better be_ , The Doctor thought back as he walked out.

Jack turned his attention back to the attractive Midshipman. "So, Alonso," Jack began with a smile, using his best pickup behavior, "going my way?"

Alonso looked a bit surprised. "How do you know my name?" he asked.

Jack gave him a lopsided smile he knew the young man would find endearing. "I'm kinda psychic," he answered, purring slightly. 

Alonso nodded in acknowledgement, the look on his face telling Jack he was definitely interested. Then Jack caught a faint whiff of pheromones from Alonso, Jack noting he liked the scent. "Can you tell what I'm thinking right now?" Alonso asked slyly, looking Jack up and down.  
"Oh yeah," Jack answered back, giving him the full megawatt smile he'd scored so often with. They smiled at each other.

Years later, as Jack was watching the cruise ship _Eagle of the Stars_ dock at the Sto Spaceport after a successful trip to the Medusa Cascade, Jack came to realize The Doctor's gift to him had been more than just easing the pain of departure. Now-Captain Alonso Frame-Harkness had grown and matured, and reminded Jack so much of Ianto's personality it was like he was back on Earth in the Torchwood Hub, waiting for his Welshman to emerge from the archives. As the passengers disembarked, chatting merrily about how lovely their trip had been and maybe they should book the same trip again next year, it occurred to Jack The Doctor had given him the one in the universe who he could find love with again. And he had. It made him love The Doctor even more than he ever had for his generosity. 

"Jack!" Alonso sighed with contentment as he exited the ship and saw his husband waiting to greet him. "The new grey hair is suiting you."

Jack embraced Alonso and gave him a long, slow, deep kiss. "I missed you so much _cariad_ ," Jack whispered to him. "That was such a long trip."

"Maybe next trip you'll come with me," Alonso replied. "And then you'll have time to teach me that Earth language you don't think I hear you speak sometimes."

"Welsh?" Jack asked. Alonso nodded. "I only know a few words, but it's a beautiful language. I just gave you a word. _Cariad_."

" _Cariad_ ," Alonso rolled the word around in his mouth a moment. "What does that mean?"

"Love."

Alonso placed his forehead against Jack's affectionately. "Let's go home. _Cariad_."

They walked together, Alonso lovingly resting his head on Jack's shoulder. Deep inside Jack felt a warm glow and heard the faint scratchy grind of TARDIS engines. The night he met Alonso was the last Jack had ever seen of The Doctor, but to Jack that was okay. He was with the one he was meant to be with in the universe. And the day he wasn't something inside told him The Doctor would find him again. With a new face, a new outlook, a different style, but him all the same. The universe told Jack he was still around. And so it was as Jack walked with his husband, feeling that special little glow, there was only one thing he could say to himself. On behalf of Alonso, of Ianto, and of himself.

" _Diolch_ *, Doctor."

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> *Thanks (Welsh)
> 
> Funny I mentioned the hair...I wrote that a week before the actor John Barrowman revealed his new look showing off his natural color, which is gray. My life can be weird that way. Diolch for reading.


End file.
